In 2009, we picked up and moved to Baltimore for graduate school. It was not long after leaving Maine that we realized that our hearts beat louder and stronger along the rocky coast and we were confidence that some day our creative path would lead us back to this rugged beauty.

What we originally thought would be only 2 years away from Maine, ended up turning into almost 9 after we found decent paying jobs in the arts and brewing industries. We really wanted to return to vacationland, but with bills to pay and little-to-nojobs being offered in our field, the idea of returning to Maine was not promising. We grappled for a long time about how to find meaningful and financially sound work in a state with far less opportunities. We also dreamed of having our own business but giving up the security of a regular paycheck is scary. …

We instantly fell in love with the old barn and decided to make that the heart of the tasting room and brewery. Converting this 1820’s structure was the biggest project we had ever taken on but we were fueled by the potential of the space and the enthusiasm to build our own business. It is probably better that we were naïve to the extreme workload and constant problem solving that was ahead of us or else we might never had begun.

Odd Alewives Farm Brewery is the culmination of our strengths, experiences and creative pursuits as a couple engaged in farming and beer making. We hope this blog provides a glimpse of how we risked it all in order to carve out our own little paradise in rural Midcoast Maine.